Hogwarts: This professor is too Muggle.

Chapter 393 Pre-match Guidance
After the banquet, the auditorium moved to a side hall.

The furnishings were very similar to the prize room, with flickering candlelight and various gold and silver items gleaming with metallic luster. Harry had been to this side room a few times. In case of emergencies, the professors would occasionally come here to hold meetings. There used to be a round table here.

It's much more convenient than the principal's office and staff lounge.

Just an hour ago he was struggling with the registration form, and now he's been chosen as a warrior and will soon represent Hogwarts. Harry feels like it's all a bit unreal.

Harry didn't see the round table and chairs; he was secretly observing the other warriors.

"Hibiscus is so beautiful..." Harry thought to himself.

He stood in the corner of the side hall against the wall, trying not to attract the attention of others. The room contained 19 other warriors, who were separated by school academies, with clear boundaries.

There was no introduction or introduction session. Harry didn't even know the Slytherin seventh-year students who had been chosen. When the list was announced, the name Perigin Derek seemed unfamiliar. It wasn't until he got to the side room that he remembered seeing that face a few times in the corridor and the Great Hall.

Hermione goes without saying, Cedric goes without saying, Cho Chang's boyfriend, Roger Davis is a Ravenclaw Quidditch player, but he's never really been around much.

"Harry Potter?"

Students from other schools who knew Lightning Scar expressed surprise. Although they had seen him submit his application not long ago, they were still surprised to see him actually pass the Goblet of Fire selection.

Harry didn't seem to care much about their opinions, greeting each warrior with a nod and a smile.

The atmosphere eased a bit, and some students from other schools began to chat. Hogwarts and Ilfamoni had no language barrier and got along even better. Harry listened to Pickley and Nancy talking while observing the other champions.

The situation is rather unique; all three schools are located in Scotland, yet there are significant communication barriers. Krum can only manage to utter a few words at a time and can barely understand greetings from others, while at Durmstrang, everyone can only communicate internally.

Hibiscus's English was fairly fluent, as if she had practiced it on purpose. With her long silver hair cascading down, she greeted Roger in a soft voice. Her simple smile was enough to make Roger look infatuated.

Harry stared for a few seconds before Hermione nudged him with her elbow.

"It really is very good..." Harry muttered to himself, but he wasn't that obsessed. He liked Cho Chang, but he was heartbroken before he even started dating her.

Is everyone here?

The door to the side hall was pushed open, and Melvin walked in. Knowing that the others did not speak the language, he gave a brief pre-match introduction without a speech, and handed over four thin pamphlets as he walked in.

The warriors from the four schools took the booklets, distributed one to each of them, and began flipping through them with great enthusiasm.

"The basic rules and procedures for the competition are all listed here; you can take a look first," Melvin said with a warm and friendly smile.

Harry glanced at them out of the corner of his eye; the other schools had versions in different languages, which must have been prepared in advance.

Dumbledore and the other principals and professors entered the room together, maintaining a tacit silence so that the 20 warriors could quickly flip through the files, leaving only the sounds of slightly hurried breathing and page turning.

"The theme of the first project is courage. Stay calm in the face of crisis, deal with the problems at hand, and complete the competition according to the requirements. The details are confidential for now. Daring to face the unknown is also part of courage..."

"The competition took place on November 24th and was completed in the presence of teachers, students, and referees from four schools."

"During the official competition, contestants may not request or accept any assistance from their teachers, may only use wands as weapons, and are prohibited from bringing any alchemical tools, potions, herbs, or magical creatures to assist them."

"This is an individual competition, with only one champion. Participants may team up with other participants during the competition, and the judges will score each participant (out of 100). Each participant's score will be calculated individually." "..."

"The organizing committee will strictly protect the safety of the participants during the competition, but accidents cannot be completely prevented. If necessary, participants will be allowed to withdraw from the competition. Honor is important, but life is only once."

After giving instructions to the students, Melvin and the other principals looked around and asked, "Is there anything else you want to ask?"

The warriors exchanged glances, shook their heads, still somewhat puzzled, but unsure where to begin their questions, and decided to ask their respective principals later.

The pre-match coaching session didn't reveal much information. The booklet was full of rule interpretations and didn't cover the actual match content. The professors and principals didn't say anything either, and the warriors looked bewildered when they left the side room.

Mrs. Maxim put her arm around Fleur's shoulder, and Christine led the other warriors of Beauxbatons out of the room quickly, communicating in broken French.

Karkaroff led the Durmstrang players, including Krum, away without saying a word.

“Then we’ll go back and rest too.” Principal Fontana patted Pickley on the shoulder and led the students away.

……

As lights out approached, Harry walked back to the Gryffindor tower, flipping through the book once more.

He turned to Hermione beside him and asked, "Do you see anything unusual? The rules seem a bit strange. They emphasize that it's an individual battle, but they also say that teamwork is allowed. What does that mean?"

"This means that when multiple players gather in the same or nearby locations and start the competition at the same time, the competition will be very difficult, and players may face dangerous situations that they cannot handle alone."

Hermione's face tightened, and her tone became serious: "Professor Levent also specifically emphasized that the tournament committee guarantees the safety of the contestants, but cannot prevent unexpected situations."

"Teamwork is allowed..." Two faces flashed through Harry's mind, his thoughts wandering. "Can we team up with students from other schools?"

Hermione shook her head: "It should only be able to team up with players from the same school. Maybe we can consider Evamori's people. Beauxbatons and Durmstrang have language barriers, so the probability of them teaming up is very small."

"Password!"

At the entrance to the portrait, the fat lady and a wrinkled witch are crammed into the same painting. Upon seeing them, she rattles off a long speech: "Violet has already told me that you two have been chosen to be champions! Ha! Gryffindor has two champions! The first time in 700 years!"

“In the past, each school was only allowed one warrior to participate, the last time was 200 years ago.”

“Yes, Violet, I can hardly remember…”

Before they could quite catch the ramblings of the two portraits, a commotion erupted as the portrait hole opened, accompanied by the popping of champagne corks that nearly knocked Harry and Hermione flat on their backs.

Hermione quickly hid to the side.

Harry wasn't so lucky; he was dragged into the common room by a dozen hands and tossed around in the air.

The entire tower was filled with cheers and screams.

(End of this chapter)